Isaiah 60:1-9
Matthew 2:1-12
I thought we’d start
this morning with a little biblical quiz.
First of all, in what book or books of the Bible do we find the story of
the three kings?
None. There are no kings mentioned and there is no
number mentioned. Instead we are told
“some wisemen” or magi from the east came to Jerusalem searching for the king
of the Jews.
What, then, are
magi? Are they kings? No.
Astrologers.
About how old was
Jesus when they came to see him? Between
41 days and 2 years.
Why did they bring
gold, frankincense, and myrrh? What were
these things and why were they important in this recounting? Frankincense is often used as incense or in
an anointing oil that was often used in the temple for religious reasons. Myrrh is similar and can also be used as an
oil or incense, but mostly was used to embalm the dead. These things were incredibly valuable,
monetarily, but they were also symbols of what was to come. Symbols of a recognition of Jesus’ holiness,
but also, his death. Both are purifiers,
and readiers for death, for sacraments, for religious tasks, all of which would
be Jesus’ life. The magi travelled far, took time away from
families, occupation, home, significant time.
While some say it would have taken only a month of travel (one
direction), others estimate that it was a year or more out of their lives that
this entailed.
They gave most
precious gifts, gifts that required all of who they were – their resources,
their time, their commitments, all to come and see this baby and to bring this
baby their gifts.
What are we this
committed to? What do we care about
enough that we would leave home, leave FAMILY, sell all we have to spend on a
gift for someone whom we’ve never met before and may never see again?
I think about the
pilgrims and what they gave up to start a new life here in the United
States. Many of them gave their lives,
dying in the travel, with the hopes for something better. Many gave up family, leaving them behind or
knowing that they risked some not making the journey successfully. The same remains true of many of our
immigrants today. Many of those who come
here as refugees or as people escaping their countries of origin are truly risking
everything they have and everything they are to try to find a better life,
usually for their kids. They make this
commitment, this journey, all to begin again, to start something new. I think about this, how they gave these most
precious gifts of starting in a new place, travelling, their resources, to
create a new life, new possibilities, for their children, their children’s
children, their family. But these magi, they gave these most precious
gifts for the hope of a new tomorrow for Israel. They gave these most precious gifts for
strangers in a strange country, in a strange world. For a future they would never see. For a time they would not and could not be a
part of.
Can you imagine that?
God loves us in this
way, giving up everything to give us the most precious gifts, of life, of
Jesus, of salvation. As Bonhoeffer said
it, "God does not love some ideal person, but rather human beings just as
we are, not some ideal world, but rather the real world."
But…
God also calls us to love in return in the same way. Of course we aren’t always going to succeed
in doing that. And sometimes it won’t
look like giving up everything to follow God.
But the willingness and faith to give all we have to further God’s reign,
God’s place, God’s LOVE here on earth, that is our call.
But still, this is good news. Because what we will find is that, as Mitch
Albom put it, “as is often the case with faith, I thought I was being asked a
favor, when in fact I was being given one.” God asks us to be willing to give everything
for God. But what we will find is that
when we do this, our lives are deepened, enriched, made whole in a way we
cannot begin to anticipate.
In the wonderful mystery story, Aunt Dimity’s Christmas, the main character, Lori, found a stranger,
a dirty, disheveled stranger, passed out in her driveway. She got him help, reluctantly, but she did
it, then proceeded, with the help of a priest to provide care for him, to get
him the medical help he needed but also to search out who he was and what his
story was. She helped him to get back on
his feet, to remember who he was, to come into his own again. She didn’t want to do it, but she found that
when she did, the gifts that came back to her far exceeded what she had given
to him. She said, “He forced me to look
at things I didn’t want to see, and remember things I wanted to forget. If Kit hadn’t come to the cottage I wouldn’t
have gone to St. Benedict’s (which included the homeless shelter). And if I hadn’t gone to St Benedicts, I
wouldn’t have realized how much I have in common with the homeless men there.
…I fought it tooth and nail….I’d gotten too fat and sassy... I’d paid my dues, so I thought I was entitled
to my blessings. Kit reminded me that
blessings aren’t a right – they’re a gift.
I’m no more entitled to them than the homeless men, and I’m ashamed of
myself for not remembering it sooner. “
Her choosing to help this stranger led her to gifts that were
uncomfortable at first, but which deepened and strengthened her and made her more
whole.
I’m reminded also of the children’s Christmas Story,
“The Littlest angel.” He was a little boy who didn’t fit in with the other
angels because he was a child, a young child, who found heaven “boring” or at
least certainly not a good place for this young boy. The understanding angel asked him what would
help and the boy said a box that was under his bed. The box was rough and had little boy things
in it – rocks, dirt, a broken bird egg, a dead butterfly, an old dog collar. But it was the treasure of the littlest
angel. These things that the rest of us would find inconsequential, dirty,
messy, broken – these were treasures for a little boy. And so when Jesus was born, and all the
angels brought presents for the Christ child, the littlest angel thought that
since Jesus would be born a young boy, he would enjoy the same things as this
littlest angel. He brought to God his
shabby, dirty box as an offering to Jesus.
He brought to God the things he treasured most to give to another little
boy. But as soon as he put this dirty,
messy box of broken and old things in with the other gifts, he had the sudden
and shocking realization that his gift was wrong. That it was nothing, that it was “horrible”
in comparison with theirs. In shame he
tried to run away from the pile of gifts, run away from God, run away from the
other angels. But as he tried to run
away, God, in great wisdom, chose his gift to become the star of
Bethlehem. Because it is the gifts from
the heart, the gifts that give all of what WE value, that are the brightest lights
that all can see.
As we know, real life isn’t always so obvious. The gifts we bring, the services we offer,
the sacrifices we make aren’t always so obviously, or so quickly turned into
beauty. Sometimes the results of our
gifts take months, years, generations for the results. Sometimes we will never
see the outcome of the gifts we bring. None the less, we are called to follow
the opportunities to serve and give that God has blessed us with, with the
hope, faith and trust that God takes whatever we offer in love, and makes it
beautiful.
My good friend, Tyler, sent me this email several lents
ago: “My wife, Sue Ann asked if I'd play something on my guitar as a solo for
Easter for her new church. My first
reaction was "I dunno, Easter is pretty 'up', and all my chord solo stuff
has been pretty introspective." I said this out loud, and she expressed
some disappointment. But I kept going
over my repertoire in my mind, and flipped through some of the music I’d played
before. That weekend, we attended a memorial service for a woman who loved to
walk, and loved nature. Among the songs they played at the service was How
Great Thou Art. Something about that
song just lit up on the page. I started
working on it, to see how I could re-harmonize it for guitar. It wasn't until I'd spent some considerable
time on it, that I read the lyrics, especially the first and second
verses. I've always related my theology
to nature, and music, and how well that fit!
So I spend a little time every morning with the tune. I seem to find something different in it,
some riff, some chord progression that took me where I want to go in the
song. It hit me this morning that I'd
actually been DOING a Lenten practice.
But instead of my choosing it, it had chosen ME. "What are you giving up for Lent?"
people say. I usually mumble and change
the subject. But it seems all my best
spiritual practices are simply given to me.
Like the first time I was asked to play a solo at Bethel. I wanted to just say NO, but instead my mouth
said "maybe". I don't even
recognize the offerings that are given to me at the time. I might not be
changing the world, saving babies or the environment with what I've been tasked
to do, but I've learned to not say "No" when God asks me. I don't
know what How Great Thou Art will sound like on Easter Morning, but that's only
partly in my hands.”
God asks us to give and gives opportunities for us to
give all the time. They are all around
us, opportunities to serve God with our time, our energy, our resources, and
especially with our love. When we give,
the rewards of that giving won’t always be clear or obvious at first. Sometimes we will never see what we have
gained in our caring and serving and giving to others. But we know that serving God is reward in
itself. And God’s love for us, for
humanity, for the world, will take whatever we give and make it huge and
beautiful. Like the star in the Littlest
Angel, our gifts of service, resources, and love become bright stars for those
with eyes to see can experience.
Today we passed out
stars. Each of these has a word on it
with the name of a gift or “virtue”.
These are gifts for you to reflect on for the next year, to focus your
thoughts, prayers and attention for the year.
Next year on Epiphany Sunday I will ask you to share stories about how
those words or stars might have touched you this last year. They are upside down in the baskets and I ask
you to pick one without looking at it first.
These aren’t “magical”, but I do think that there can be a gift in
focusing on one of the many blessings God has given to each of us for a set
amount of time. I look forward to
hearing how your lights will show and touch the world this year, how you will have
been touched by God’s light this year.
Amen.
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